Friday, August 19, 2011

Friday. . . thank goodness!

I'm afraid I am guilty of wishing my life away. I need to learn to live in the moment. I saw an illustration that said "Be happy for this moment this moment is your life. THIS moment?? Right now? That certainly puts some perspective on the time I just spent on a game of solitaire on the computer that I could have spent reading something meaningful. I can easily sit and think of all the things I would be doing if I could be somewhere else, or all the things I'd like to be doing if I didn't have to work, and how I'd make the world a better place if...
IF. Maybe we should remove that word from our vocabulary. IF is just the beginning of an excuse. It is the set up to an immediate failure. It's just saying "you would but you can't", so why bother saying or thinking whatever that is at all, right? I think that I will try to replace "if" with "will". There shall be no more "if I could" in my language. Before I even get to "I would do ___ if I could", I will turn it around in my head and decide that " ___ is what I can do so I will".

So here I am in my moment. What can I do? Well obviously I've been just working through my own thoughts and I've realized that thinking isn't nearly as overrated as I had decided it was. It's all about WHAT you are thinking. Managing your thoughts instead of letting them manage you, what a unique and amazing concept. I've spent quite a bit of time over the last few months letting myself get worked up and overwhelmed by "being in my head too much" so I felt like I needed something mindless to keep that from happening. I mean let's face it,  it truly can be a scary place up there without a navigator or a guide. But if you enter with a map, a plan, and a destination, the trip can be very pleasant and even productive! I Googled simply "reinventing yourself" not too terribly long ago and read an article about letting go of the past and moving towards your future.  It was short and to the point, but very powerful. First it said to thank your past before you walk away from it. I have to say I love the idea of being thankful for all your experiences good and bad. Then it talked about visualizing your future. Playing out specific scenarios of who you want to be or what you want to happen. What a brilliant way to daydream. Dreaming of things you want and plan to make happen instead of things that you desire but know will never happen!

"Goals in life are great, but aspirations are better. With goals comes expectations of how things should be, a line so fine that we are often disappointed. However, with aspirations comes this understanding that the world is in movement, that things change constantly and that it is okay. Goals are too tangible for a future that does not yet exist, whereas aspiring to be a better person, to learn, to give and to love are all elements of the present. Blind positive thinking is aimed at a future state of being rather than just being." - Veronique Barnes
I add this quote because I have to say that I think the point of aspiring to be a better person as a whole within what life has dealt you is truly important to grasp and work toward, though I can't say that I think goals and positive thinking are negatives by any means.  There is certainly nothing wrong with dreaming big! Just be prepared to do the work that goes with it.

So I've talked a big game today and I cannot tell you that I am this person, but I want to be.

No comments:

Post a Comment